I will be in Chicago August 4-8th. Any outstanding Q spots to try? My wife has a seminar to attend and I am going for the ride. Not exactly sure where I will be but I know Lalapalusa will be in the park very close to the hotel, the Navy pier is close by, and the Shed Aquarium is definately on my list. (I have had fresh and salt water aquariums a good portion of my life.) I have heard there are some fantastic q places in Chicago and I want to try a couple. Any suggestions are welcome.

A couple of my other favorites are Honey One and Honky Tonk. There are a number of newer places that I haven't been to but have heard good things about them from trusted sources - Pork Shoppe and Lillie's Q (should be open by August).

There are some great old school places on the Southside - Uncle John's, Barbara Ann's, and Lem's are all great. They are all carry out joints, and aren't in the safest parts of the city, but they have excellent Q. If you don't have a car they may be difficult to get to.

Check out LTH Forum for general Chicago restaurant reviews, their reviews are much better than what you'll find on Yelp.

Looks like Chris posted about Smoque back in 2007 when they first opened. Sounds like they passed the test of time. That looks like my target. Probably try to hit there on Thursday. Anybody in the area on Aug 5, wish to join me? Not sure yet if it will be lunch or dinner, but I will let you guys know as it gets closer.

Thanks for all the suggestions. As time permits, I will try to get to another joint as well.

For those interested, looks like Wednesday is the best night that I can do dinner. Thursday night is a "let's get tanked" night at some Irish pub near Grant park. So, I fly into Ohare airport around 5. Shoot over to the hotel. I am told it is very close to Grant park. I think it is on S Michigan ave. What would be the closest Smoque to the hotel? Who is in? Is 7-8:00 ok? Anyone and everyone is welcome as far as I am concerned. Look forward to putting some faces to texts.